Salvageant
by Chidsengan
Summary: Everyone said it wasn't a word. It didn't exist, and therefore, didn't have a definition. Sort of like him. Yet he was sure that there was someone out there who fit the term. He was sure that somewhere out there, there was someone who was willing to sort through the trash to salvage the treasure. Even if it didn't seem like it. Enjoy,please! I beg you,no flames!


_**Happy Mother's Day to every mother in the world and may GOD Please Bless You on this special day :)**_

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**Chidsengan: Hi and welcome everyone to my fifth fanfic! Yay me! *jumps around happily and claps hands* And, as it's a momentous occasion, here to do the A/N with me is my little brother and the person that completes me... Rasdori!**

**Rasdori: Hi, everyone! For those of you who know my sister from her other Beyblade Metal Saga, Ouran High School Host Club, and Kuroko no Basuke fanfics, I'd just like to say welcome back and thank you for all your support thus!**

**Chidsengan: ^_^ I second that completely! And for everyone just reading my fanfics for the first time... TT_TT I'm sorry I'm such a terrible author! Please Forgive me... *slumps in a dark corner***

**Rasdori: -_- ... yeah, my sister's prone to depression over her writing, too. And insulting herself. But, in any event... moving on! *sees his sister is still crying hysterically and sighs, then reads over the notes they've made for the A/N* Alright, apparently, I'm going to have to do this A/N pretty much on my own now, so,...**

**I guess for starters I should say that, in addition to this being my sister's fifth fanfic on the site, it's also her first fanfic ever written for One Piece and the first to be posted for our 'A Year of Fics' challenge (please see her author profile for full details). Basically, however, it was written based on a random prompt I gave her. The random prompt having to do with One Piece this time and the question of "Sanji loves women, but what if he ever became cynical towards them?". And thus, this fanfic was born.**

**Secondly, my sister doesn't own One Piece or the characters. In fact, she's not even a diehard fan of the series... but I'm going to make her one.**

**Chidsengan: Wait a second... that part wasn't on the A/N notes!**

**Rasdori: And thirdly, I know you're going to enjoy my sister's writing despite what she says, so please, feel free to laugh, cry, and fall in love with this fanfic and the amazing author that wrote it!**

**Chidsengan: Rasdori, that wasn't in the A/N, either! And you know I'm a terrible writer! There's no way anyone will enjoy this fanfic!**

**Rasdori: I enjoy it.**

**Chidsengan: You're obligated to as my younger brother!**

**Rasdori: Not really. Anyway, why don't you thank everyone who's reading and will read this fanfic in advance?**

**Chidsengan: Right! ^_^" Umm... sorry, everyone. And thank you so much for clicking on this fanfic! It means the world to me, and I'm so sorry I'm not a better writer! **

**Rasdori: While I don't agree with that last part, my sis has a point. Thank you, everyone, and please enjoy!**

**Chidsengan: TT_TT If it's possible to enjoy this terrible fanfic...**

**Rasdori: And please review, favorite, and follow, too ;)**

**Chidsengan: Rasdori! No one has to do any of those things! Just having others read my fanfic is enough for me!**

**Rasdori: Meh, what kind of brother would I be if I didn't try? ;) Please enjoy, everyone!**

**Chidsengan: And thank you so much!**

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_Note #1:_

_This fanfic takes place in an alternate universe. Hence some of the characters' characteristics not being identical to the series (for instance: Franky isn't a cyborg, just a punk who wears lots of metal, and Brook is an eccentric musician who dresses up in skeleton face paint). Sorry for any confusion._

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_Note #2:_

_Since I'm not really as big a fan as my brother is, I could use plenty of help with knowledge of the series and the characters from pros like you. I have a pretty good assessment of the Strawhats and most of their friends, but any info or tips about any of the other characters would be helpful, too. Especially things like catchphrases, pasts, and their general personalities if I make anyone too __OOC. Also, I'm having a hard time remembering all the girls in the series and can't find a good list online, so..._

_Rasdori: You forgot Perona._

_Chidsengan: ... I know. Anyway, I'd love to hear from you! I'm always ready to listen to suggestions, and would love to include those that any of you might have in this fanfic (and give you full credit for them, too!). Please, be my nakama! ^_^_

_PS: So far, I have Nami, Robin, Vivi, Violet/Viola, Boa Hancock, Shirahoshi, Camie, and Rebecca. I know I forgot a lot of girls, so if anyone can name any more, or the girls they'd like to see in this fanfic, from the series, I'd be beyond grateful :)_

_Rasdori: You forgot Perona._

_Chidsengan: -_- ... why do you care so much about Perona...?_

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_Note #3:_

_May contain spoilers if you haven't seen the series straight through. I think. Everything's set in an AU, so maybe not, but just to make sure... may contain spoilers ^_^" Also, the fanfic starts off at the ages the cast was pre-timeskip in the One Piece series and continues through two years till the ages they were post-timeskip in the series._

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_Note #4:_

_ACE LIVES! XD_

_Rasdori: -_- ... not astonishing, since he's her favorite..._

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It had all started when he was sixteen.

He should've listened to everyone when they said not to fall in love with her, not to trust her, but at the time, he'd been young and, admittedly, a complete dummy.

Especially when it came to that girl.

So against the advice of everyone he knew, against the advice of his friends, his co-workers, and even the man who took him in as a child, he'd sided for a woman he had met at a bus stop for twelve minutes.

Her name had been Violet, and she'd been, quite simply put, a woman after every man's heart.

Young, slender, and feminine in appearance with long, wavy black hair and piercing gold eyes... a voice that could melt hearts... a smile that was more beautiful than anything one could or ever would see... that had been Violet.

It didn't hurt that she'd carried herself with complete elegance and dignity everywhere she went, and her sense of style was absolutely impeccable.

And, despite her being five years his senior, Sanji had been instantly smitten by her.

Not to say it wasn't normal for him to be. After all, Violet was everything a woman should be and Sanji was, well, Sanji. He had a reputation of falling in love with every woman he laid eyes on, and, even if they weren't the best-looking, he held a different sort of love for them nonetheless.

Violet had been different, however.

It hadn't just been a typical, somewhat goofy sort of crush. It had been love at first sight.

Sanji had loved the way Violet walked, how she brushed her hair out of her eyes, and how she'd laugh every time he'd stumble over his words trying to compliment her.

He loved the way she had tugged at her jacket on the frigid day they'd first met one another, and how she'd gently comforted him despite giggling when a speeding car had splashed mud all over him.

Most of all, he'd loved how she'd said his name. "Sanji"... it was like music to his ears; a gentle melody that he could never hear enough. He'd never loved his name so much.

The bus had come, and they'd sat together; just enjoying themselves until the ride had ended, much to soon, they'd both agreed.

Rather than go in the opposite direction back to the apartment he shared with his foster father, Sanji had somehow ended up walking Violet to her home; a gorgeous mansion with a dance studio she'd built just for her to practice becoming a ballroom dancer; her dream. Even her dreams had been beautiful.

After spending an hour or two more with one another over a cup of warm, homeade tea, Sanji had headed home with the agreement for he and Violet to meet the next day.

They had.

And the day after that. And the day after that. And the day after that for two months.

Every paycheck he recieved Sanji spent completely on Violet and everything she wanted he'd given her. He'd even withheld two months worth of rent to buy her a fabulous designer dress she'd had her eye on. A white flamenco dress with purple polka dots and burgundy ruffles. All the nagging of his landlord had all been forgotten the moment Violet had first swept across her dance studio in the dress.

In another month, however, it was decided that Violet would soon be wearing a different dress.

Pawning a watch he'd received as a gift and after a whole lot of bartering, Sanji had managed to buy Violet the best engagement ring he could afford.

She'd said yes.

Basically, after that, Sanji had gotten reemed out by everyone he knew for marrying a woman he hadn't even known for four months, but had he listened? No. Just like a foolish little boy in love, he'd ignored all their warnings and followed his heart rather than what he himself could've seen if he'd only looked closer.

The next month, the two had married; a spectacular marriage that had been everything Violet had asked for and then some. In fact, the wedding had been completely fixed around her wants and and her wants only.

Even the guests had only been people she knew, as everyone Sanji had invited couldn't bear to see him marry a woman they knew wasn't right for him.

He'd spent the afterparty being ignored while Violet hung out with her friends, and his only company turned out to be the singer for the wedding; a guy named Brook, lead singer of the up-and-coming band Humming Brook.

The honeymoon was even worse.

The two plane tickets he'd bought for them, as well as the reservations for them to spend in an exotic place called Dressrosa, had ultimately gone to Violet and a friend of hers. It just so happened, the way Violet had put it, that her friend had always wanted to go to that island but could never afford to, and so forth and so forth...

So Sanji, being the lovestruck dummy he'd been, had agreed to give his plane ticket to Violet's friend. At the time, he would've agreed to anything Violet asked him to. If she'd asked him to jump off a cliff, then he would've gladly done so in a heartbeat.

In retrospect, it might've been better if he had.

In any event, the month he was supposed to have been on his honeymoon Sanji had spent furnishing the home that he and Violet had agreed to live in.

It was a house that was a bit on the pricey side if one bought it upfront, but as far as rent-to-owns went, it was a good deal. And the furniture were all pieces that Violet had hand-picked, pieces she'd just had to have. And Sanji, being the good lovestruck dummy he was, bought her every single thing she wanted.

Buying her every single thing she wanted had left him flat broke, too. Between the wedding, the plane tickets, the honeymoon reservations, the downpayment on the house, the furniture, and, oh, yes, the car she'd seen and had fallen in love with, he'd used up every cent of his college savings and had become a regular for cash cows. But had he cared? No.

He was a lovestruck dummy, after all; a sixteen-year-old who was smitten by his beloved.

However, even he had to wonder when the month Violet and her friends were supposed to spend in Dressrosa turned into two... two without any communication between them after the first two weeks.

And when two turned into three. And when three turned into four.

Before four months could turn into five, he'd packed his suitcases, pawned the last thing of value he had (a ring that had been in his family for years), and had bought a plane ticket to Dressrosa to make sure Violet had been okay (and her friend... but mostly Violet).

What he found there had been something that he would never forget.

He hadn't only found that Violet was alright, but that she was having the time of her life balroom-dancing with and kissing Donquixote Doflamingo; a tall blonde guy clad in crazy-patterned clothes, a pink-feathered jacket, and orange tinted sunglasses. Not to mention an eerie smile that always seemed to be on his face.

But Donquixote Doflamingo was also rich, from noble blood, and beneficial for Violet's dreams. The two also hit it off, and Mr. Doflamingo even had a nickname for Violet: 'Viola'. In addition to that, the way Violet put it, although Sanji was "a nice boy", he just wasn't right for her. At least, not like Donquixote Doflamingo, _feathery-pink-jacketed-nickname-giving-creepy-smiley-face-extraordinaire_, was.

In simpler words, whatever Sanji had felt for her was no longer reciprocated, if it had ever been.

The next thing he knew he'd been begging her not to leave him, and after that, her high-heeled stilleto had met with his face before he'd been kicked out of the restaurant and sent back home... if he could call it that.

The day after, Violet... or Viola... had filed for a divorce. And after a little time in court, she'd gotten everything she'd wanted, everything Sanji had bought her. And when she had, she married Donquixote Doflamingo.

And at the end of the day, Sanji was left with nothing.

Even his job and his old apartment were things he could no longer go back to. The man who had raised him, a chef named Zeff, had owned the restaurant where he'd worked, and the two had lived together.

After Sanji had married Violet, however, Zeff had moved out of the small town they lived in to expand his business prospects in the city, taking the employees of his restaurant with him and shutting the small place he had down. Thinking

back, it pained Sanji how he'd turned down the offer to go with them all, in favor of starting a life with Violet.

And two months later, before his seventeenth birthday, without a job and any friends or family to borrow from but with plenty of cash cows to pay back, Sanji had spent his first night sleeping on a park bench.

That had been two years ago.

Now, two years later, he was alone in a damp alleyway; staring at the raindrops as the fell from the dark, black clouds above as he tried his best to avoid them beneath the small slab of cradboard he was huddled under.

Two years since he'd last had a roof over his head.

Two years since he'd last had shoes without holes in them.

Two years since he'd last had a decent meal.

Two years since... so many things.

Two years since he'd had so much...

... and two years since he'd lost everything.

Not a single day in those two years had he not thought of what had happened, but the memories always seemed to haunt him more every time it rained, for some reason; and that particular rainy day, those memories were weighing so heavily on his shoulders that it felt as if the claws of death were scraping him for everything they were worth.

Then again, maybe he really was dying. He had, after all acquired a nagging cough quite sometime back. Or maybe sleeping in alleys in the biting cold was catching up to him. Then again, it could've been that eating from garbage bins had finally taking it's toll... who could really say?

Huddling under the sopping-wet cardboard he was holding all the more, he desperately tried to keep his teeth from chattering as those dreaded memories kept playing through his mind.

How things had gotten as terrible as they were, how he had sunk into such a predicament... they constantly prevaded his thoughts each day, though the details became foggier as time went on.

But no matter how foggy things became, no matter what the details were, he would always remeber how three factors had played a role in his downfall more than anything else.

The first had been Violet... a woman.

The second had been his love for her.

The third had been himself.

Women.

Love.

Himself.

A trio that had ammounted something worse than he could've ever imagined; the three things he considered the source of all his suffering.

Oh, how he hated them all.

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**Rasdori: ... aaaand, make a note that my sister is one of the most depressing authors to ever write on fanfiction...**

**Chidsengan: TT_TT I'm sorry...**

**Rasdori: ^_^" No, no, depressing's good. It's fine. I mean, sure Sanji's life completely fell apart in the span of two thousand words, but other than that, it's really good. Besides, it was my prompt that started this fanfic, so I take full responsibility for whatever angst ensues...**

**Chidsengan: TTUTT You're the best brother ever... *hugs him* But as if you could ever be wrong! Your prompt was genius! I'm the one who ruined everything!**

**Rasdori: Umm... sis... can't... breathe...**

**Luffy: *appears out of nowhere* Hey, when do I come in?**

**Zoro: *appears out of nowhere* And me?**

**Usopp: *appears out of nowhere* And me?**

**Sanji: YOU MARRIED ME TO A PRETTY GIRL AND THEN HAD HER DITCH ME FOR THAT FEATHER-WEARING FREAK?!**

**Zoro: Easy does it, love cook. You're supposed to be angry at girls, remember?**

**Usopp: I think he is angry at a girl. Chidsengan.**

**Sanji: 0.0 ... she's the author?**

**Chidsengan: TT_TT I'm sorry...**

**Sanji: *instant love cook mode* No, madamoiselle, don't be. I apologize for my rash behavior. Please, Forgive me.**

**Chidsengan: ^_^ Okay!**

**Usopp: 0.0 Umm... what's going on here?**

**Zoro: -_- ... I liked it better when he was angry at the pathetic-excuse-for-an-author...**

**Rasdori: DON'T CALL MY SISTER A PATHETIC-EXCUSE-FOR-AN-AUTHOR!**

**Usopp: Yeah, and the dummy's actually okay with it.**

**Rasdori: DON'T CALL MY SISTER A DUMMY!**

**Luffy: Why not? She's both those things.**

**Rasdori: *lunges at them all* ZIP IT, YOU GRAND LINE NUISANCES!**

**Chidsengan: *oblivious to everything from her brother and the Strawhats fighting to Sanji completely smitten by her* ^_^ Anyway, thank you everyone for reading this fanfic and I hope you enjoyed it at least a little bit. Although, considering how poorly-written and depressing it was, I don't see how... but... TT_TT Thank you all so much and I'm so sorry I'm not a better writer!**

**Sanji: *pulls a rose from out of nowhere and hands it to Chidsengan* Now, now, don't fret, my love. I'm sure you tried your best. So... *takes her hand* ... how about we head off into the setting sun and talk about all the lovely ways you can think of torturing me in this fanfic over a romantic dinner prepared specially by me?**

**Chidsengan: ^_^ I can't stand romance, but sure!**

***In an instant, the two happily skip off into the setting sun (complete with a beach scene and waves crashing against rocks) hand-in-hand as Rasdori, Luffy, Zoro, and Usopp stare at them in shock and confusion***

**Zoro: -_- ... are they... really doing that...?**

**Luffy: Woah, they took to eachother like meat to a bone.**

**Usopp: HOW CAN THE SUN BE SETTING IF IT'S ONLY MORNING WHERE WE ARE?!**

**Rasdori: *^* ... that cook's getting along too well with my sister...**

**Nami: *from where's she's been observing the whole thing* -_- ... we're all doomed...**


End file.
